drapetomonia - the overwhelming urge to run away.
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When Junia Beaumont, her brother and their classmates get a last assignment before the end of the school year, she doesn't know just how quickly things will change for her.
Who would have thought t...
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16. the arena
By the time they reach the buffet set up for the students, Junia has managed to stop crying.
She’s not hungry per se, however, she decides to still take a slice of pie so she doesn’t seem impolite. She pours herself a glass of grape juice and glances back at the other students, some of which are more than eager to dig into the food spread out on the buffet.
With a sigh, she walks over to the table her brother is sitting at, sharing a quiet conversation with Lyssie. After Junia was able to calm down, she assured Sejanus that she was going to be okay. Still, Junia can see her best friend staring at the food on his plate, poking at it with his fork and knife like it’s the least edible thing he has ever seen. He’s talking to Coriolanus, though it seems a bit one-sided, and she decides that, at least for now, she’ll leave them be.
He’s clearly deep in thought and she doesn’t feel like adding more fuel to the fire with her own anger. It has barely faded, that sick feeling in the pit of her stomach returns tenfold whenever she thinks of that humiliating display of the tributes. All because Arachne couldn’t be bothered to treat another human being with common decency.
Even from the afterlife, she manages to make people’s lives a living hell. But she keeps this to herself.
“Hey," she says.
When she places her tray on the table and then pulls her chair out, the conversation between Cas and Lyssie comes to a halt.
"What are we talking about?" She asks.
She sits down, seeing the way he has barely touched his pie and sighs.
At least Lyssie has managed to finish her own slice. Not that she looks eager to go for another serving though.
“Just about Clemmie,” Lyssie replies. She looks uneasy, still a bit shaken from the funeral. Even though she maintains a calm and collected facade, there’s no denying the tension in her body. “It’s strange. I assumed she’d at least be here for the funeral.”
“I didn’t even see her family,” Cas says grimly and looks at his sister. "It's all not making any sense. Coriolanus is here and he seems fine.”
“Perhaps she really is sick though,” Junia suggests, poking at her pie with her fork. “I don’t know. Coriolanus seems to be doing alright and our mother said she looked sickly yesterday.”
